Staying Warm

 One of the complications of Sjogren's Syndrome is cold hands and feet.  Inflammation impedes circulation making it more difficult to pump blood to my extremities.  On top of that since my immune system is overactive as soon as it drops below 50 degrees my body immediately goes into survival mode basically saying "forget the toes and fingers, we have to protect her organs."

While this is helpful in true hypothermic situations, it's quite annoying and uncomfortable when I was just taking a walk around the block and now needle sharp pains are shooting through my hands and fingers. 

I have bought and tried dozens of gloves and mittens with no relief.  I carry hand warmers with me and still the pain and cold is there.

I soak my hands in warm water, I have tried lotions and I have tried wiggling my fingers to help create warmth and stop the cold from coming.  To no avail.  

For Christmas, George gave me a battery powered heated vest, a heated mattress pad, and a new coat.  Colton gave me new mittens.  My family knows how hard it is for me to stay warm.  

This morning I wanted to go walk in the woods and take in the beauty of our winter wonderland.  I put on my new vest and mittens and boots and headed out.  I wasn't sure how warm it would keep me so thought I would head back as soon as I got too cold.

2.5 miles later I realized with astonishment that my fingers were still warm!  And so were my toes.  I was perplexed.  Why were my extremities so warm on this icy cold morning?

Then it hit me.  The vest was keeping my body core warm, and thus able to efficiently pump warm blood through every finger and toe.  I was able to snap pictures with ease and truly enjoy my walk. 

When I returned home I found that within minutes of taking off the vest my fingertips were starting to tingle. 

Some quick scientific research confirmed that often we fail to keep our fingers and toes warm by not protecting and heating our core.

We do that spiritually too, don't we?  We try to change the outward or surface things (or demand them of others), when what really will help us is a warming, or change of our heart.  We set ourselves up for failure by desperately attacking the extremities of issues instead of getting to the heart.  

President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

President Benson affirmed: "Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world."

He said that men changed for Christ will be captained by Christ. "Like Paul they will be asking, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' (Acts 9:6.) Peter stated they will "follow his steps.' (1 Pet. 2:21.) John said they will 'walk, even as he walked.' " (1 John 2:6.)

The key to that change will be looking at our hearts and asking for His help in getting that love pumping through our lives.